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Yes/Boston Announces Inaugural Cohort of 12 Innovators Advancing Food and Health Solutions

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From resilient food production and logistics to improving access to nutritious meals, the inaugural cohort is focused on deploying solutions to strengthen Boston’s food and health landscape.

BOSTON, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Yes/Boston, an initiative intended to accelerate innovation at the intersection of food systems and health, today announced its inaugural cohort of 12 innovators. Chosen from 131 applicants by the World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform with support from local startup accelerator MassChallenge, this first cohort features solutions aimed at strengthening Boston’s food and health landscape and will work with Boston’s public, private and community collaborators to deploy solutions that help improve health outcomes, strengthen food-system resilience and expand economic opportunity.

Through a program led locally by MassChallenge, the innovators will receive hands-on support, matching founders with experts, and will bring together healthcare systems, community organizations, public sector stakeholders, and corporate collaborators positioned to help them develop, deploy and grow.

Yes/Boston launched in February 2026 under the leadership of the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Citi, and Deloitte* and is led locally by MassChallenge in collaboration with the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and more than thirty local organizations.

The initiative unites public, private, nonprofit and community leaders to harness the region’s robust innovation ecosystem, with a focus on improving health outcomes and creating more resilient and sustainable food systems – areas where Boston combines global research leadership with real-world deployment. The initiative is designed to help Boston become a leading testbed for food-as-health innovation while generating lessons that can be replicated in cities around the world. The Challenge called for startups that could deliver a measurable impact in Boston within four areas: food production; food logistics; nutritious food and meals; and food and health information access and navigation.

“The most important problems aren’t addressed by good intentions or new technology alone. They get solved when the right founders have access to the right infrastructure of support: the customers who need their solutions, the operators who can deploy them, and the networks that open doors that would otherwise take years to build. The founders in this cohort are not working on the margins of the food system. They are reimagining it to contribute to a healthier Boston and a new economic engine,” said MassChallenge CEO Cait Brumme.

“The work already underway in Boston to build more resilient food systems and improve health outcomes is exciting, and this first cohort is a powerful example of what is possible when innovation meets purpose,” said Rebecca Chasen, New England Managing Partner at Deloitte LLP. “Yes/Boston exists to help amplify, accelerate, and scale that progress – and just as importantly, to convene the ecosystem of supporters to help these founders succeed.”

The 12 innovator solutions selected for Boston are:

BioBlends

EatLove

EatWell Meal Kits

Family Dinner

FoodCopia

Gyre Energy

Health in Her HUE

Matriark Foods

Morrissey Market

Mothership Materials

RevivBio

ThriveLink

“The future of food will be shaped by entrepreneurs who can turn bold ideas into scalable businesses with measurable impact. This cohort showcases the strength of Boston’s innovation ecosystem, and we’re excited to help these founders accelerate solutions that strengthen food access, improve nutrition, and build more resilient communities,” said John Dutton, Head of UpLink, World Economic Forum.

“The challenges of food access, chronic disease, and community resilience are too complex for any one sector to solve alone,” said Jeff Merritt, Head of the Centre for Urban Transformation at the World Economic Forum. “The innovators selected through Yes/Boston represent the kind of bold thinking needed to create lasting impact. By rallying businesses, healthcare institutions, investors, and city leaders around these solutions, Boston is demonstrating how cities can harness cross-sector collaboration to build healthier, more resilient communities and local economies.”

The cohort reflects the strength of the innovation pipeline. Selected from 131 applications, the final cohort includes startups headquartered in Boston, across the United States and internationally.

As part of the program managed by MassChallenge, the top innovators will receive access to tailored local support. This includes advisory support from the Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and other Boston-area research, nonprofit and policy institutions. As startups in the UpLink program, they’ll benefit from the visibility, resources, and expertise of the World Economic Forum’s UpLink global innovation ecosystem to help accelerate scale and impact.

Yes/Boston is part of the World Economic Forum’s Yes/Cities initiative, which helps cities leverage innovation ecosystems to address local challenges while generating scalable models for broader adoption. By connecting entrepreneurs, public-sector leaders, investors and community organizations, Yes/Cities helps accelerate the deployment of solutions that improve quality of life and strengthen urban resilience.

The model is already demonstrating results in San Francisco, where the focus is on sustainability and economic revitalization. Since launching, the program has helped catalyze new investment, partnerships and deployments across the city, including:

More than $60 million has been invested in the city and many of these Top Innovators, and the momentum continues to build.Solutions are already being integrated into the local infrastructure – from privacy-first thermal sensors deployed in major downtown towers to a new wave of curbside EV charging stations.Several other innovators from the cohort are rapidly expanding their presence with local hires and new deployments that are directly helping to spur San Francisco’s economy.

About MassChallenge

MassChallenge is a global institution that backs startups building solutions to complex, systems-critical challenges, working where complexity is high and the path to market is hardest. Founded in Massachusetts, MassChallenge connects startups with partners, programs, and capital designed to accelerate commercialization and real-world impact. Since 2009, MassChallenge has supported more than 5,000 startups that have raised over $29B in funding and created more than 90,000 jobs. Learn more at masschallenge.org.

About Yes/Cities

Yes/Cities is a global initiative led by the World Economic Forum, Deloitte and others that brings together governments, innovators, investors, and leading companies to unlock economic opportunity and improve quality of life. It provides a pathway for world-leading companies to invest in innovation ecosystems across the globe – driving local growth, improving quality of life, forging new cross-sector collaborations, and seeding solutions to pressing global challenges. For further information, click here.

*Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of their legal structure.

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Pudu Robotics Makes Its IFA Debut, Bringing Its Full Robotics Portfolio to Europe

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PUDU D7 Makes Its European Debut as Visitors Experience Live Demonstrations Across Service Delivery, Commercial Cleaning, Industrial Delivery and General Embodied AI

BERLIN, Sept. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pudu Robotics, a global leader in commercial service robotics, is making its debut at IFA 2026 in Berlin, bringing its full robotics portfolio to one of the world’s leading technology showcases. From commercial service and cleaning robots already deployed at scale to its latest embodied AI solutions, Pudu is demonstrating how intelligent robots are moving beyond controlled environments and into real-world applications across industries.

The exhibition marks the first European appearance of the PUDU D7, Pudu Robotics’ next-generation semi-humanoid intelligent robot. At the booth, visitors can see PUDU D7 in action alongside the PUDU D5, BellaBot Pro, PUDU CC1 Pro, PUDU MT1 Max and PUDU T600, with live demonstrations showcasing capabilities ranging from human-robot interaction and autonomous mobility to service delivery, commercial cleaning and industrial delivery.

PUDU D7 Makes Its European Debut

Designed for real-world physical tasks, PUDU D7 demonstrates how an intelligent robot can perceive its surroundings, interact with people and manipulate objects.

At the Pudu booth, visitors can interact directly with PUDU D7 through a series of live demonstrations. The robot can take photos with visitors, take selfies from its own perspective, respond with a heart-hand gesture and pick up objects on request, turning embodied intelligence into an experience visitors can see and engage with firsthand.

PUDU D7’s European debut also follows its recognition as an IFA Innovation Award Honoree in the IFA NEXT & Emerging Tech category, marking an early highlight of Pudu Robotics’ first appearance at the show.

PUDU D5 Series Demonstrates Mobility Across Challenging Terrain

The PUDU D5 series offers a different demonstration of embodied intelligence, focusing on mobility across challenging physical environments. At the Pudu booth, D5-W navigates stairs, gravel and sandy surfaces, demonstrating autonomous movement across uneven and changing terrain.

Beyond the show floor, this mobility platform is designed to support tasks in environments where conventional wheeled robots can face greater mobility challenges, including industrial warehouses, tunnels and mining sites. Potential applications include autonomous transport and site patrol, extending quadruped robotics beyond structured indoor environments and into more demanding industrial settings.

Together, D7 and D5 offer visitors two distinct demonstrations of embodied intelligence in action — from physical interaction and object manipulation to autonomous mobility across complex terrain.

A Full Robotics Portfolio in Action

While embodied AI represents the next frontier of Pudu Robotics’ technology development, the company’s IFA showcase also highlights the robotics portfolio that has already accumulated extensive real-world deployment experience.

BellaBot Pro represents Pudu’s service delivery portfolio, demonstrating autonomous delivery and interactive capabilities for environments such as restaurants, hotels and retail. The robot combines navigation, delivery and human interaction to support a range of service workflows.

In commercial cleaning, PUDU CC1 Pro and PUDU MT1 Max showcase intelligent cleaning solutions for different environments. CC1 Pro combines sweeping, scrubbing, vacuuming and mopping in one platform, while intelligent perception helps the robot identify cleaning needs and optimize its operations. The CC1 series has already surpassed 20,000 units shipped worldwide.

Designed for larger and more complex environments, PUDU MT1 Max uses 3D perception and autonomous navigation to operate across spaces such as parking facilities, warehouses and industrial areas. Its intelligent cleaning capabilities enable it to respond to different types of debris and floor conditions.

For industrial applications, PUDU T600 demonstrates autonomous material transport with a payload capacity of up to 600 kilograms. Designed for demanding logistics environments, T600 extends autonomous robotic transport into factories, warehouses and other industrial settings.

From 130,000+ Shipments to the Next Generation of Robotics

Pudu Robotics’ IFA showcase builds on substantial real-world deployment experience. The company has shipped more than 130,000 robots across 85+ countries and regions and more than 1,000 cities, with its robots deployed across hospitality, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, property management and other commercial and industrial environments.

That experience is reflected in the range of robots on display in Berlin. Some are designed for highly specialized tasks such as cleaning or material transport, while newer platforms such as D7 and D5-W are extending robotic capabilities into more dynamic forms of physical interaction and mobility.

By bringing the full portfolio together at IFA, Pudu Robotics is giving European audiences a direct view of how commercial robotics is evolving — from robots already working at scale in real-world environments to a new generation of intelligent robots capable of interacting with people, objects and increasingly complex physical surroundings.

“IFA gives us an opportunity to show robotics not simply as technology, but through what robots can actually do in the real world,” said Shawn Wu, Vice President and General Manager of Embodied Intelligence Business, Pudu Robotics. “From PUDU D7 interacting with visitors to PUDU D5 navigating challenging terrain and our other specialized robots performing service, cleaning and transport tasks, the experience at our booth reflects the breadth of where robotics is heading and the practical value it can already deliver.”

Pudu Robotics is exhibiting at IFA 2026 from Sept. 4 to 8 at Messe Berlin, Hall 25, Stand H25-354. Visitors can experience live demonstrations and interact with Pudu’s latest robotic solutions throughout the exhibition.

About Pudu Robotics

Pudu Robotics is a global leader in commercial service robotics and the industry’s first company to offer a full portfolio spanning specialized, semi-humanoid, and humanoid robots. According to Frost & Sullivan’s latest market report, Pudu Robotics ranks No. 1 globally in commercial service robotics by both revenue and shipment volume. Built on its One Brain, Multiple Embodiments architecture, Pudu offers robots for service delivery, commercial cleaning, industrial delivery, and general embodied AI applications across hospitality, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, education, public services, and more. To date, Pudu Robotics has shipped over 130,000 robots to customers across 85+ countries and regions.

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XCOTTON Joins the Conversation at IFA 2026: Why the Future of Commerce Goes Beyond Checkout

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LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the global consumer technology industry gathers in Berlin for IFA 2026, thousands of brands are showcasing what comes next: smarter devices, connected experiences, artificial intelligence, robotics, and technologies designed to change how people live and shop. But behind every new product is another part of the consumer journey that deserves just as much attention: What happens after the customer buys?

The Xcotton team is in Berlin during the event to connect with consumer brands, retailers, technology companies, and potential business partners. The conversations are focused on a broader question for modern commerce: how can brands create a better experience after checkout while reducing the risks that come with delivering products to customers around the world?

The Customer Journey Doesn’t End at Checkout

For years, e-commerce innovation has focused heavily on the path to purchase. Brands optimize advertising to attract shoppers, product pages to increase conversion, checkout flows to reduce abandonment, and promotions to encourage customers to buy.

But the transaction is only one moment in the customer relationship. After payment, the order still needs to be fulfilled, shipped, delivered, and supported. A package can be delayed, lost, stolen, or damaged. A customer may need a replacement or refund. A support team may suddenly have to spend time resolving a problem that had nothing to do with the product itself.

For global e-commerce brands, these challenges become even more important as order volumes increase and businesses expand into new markets. A single delivery problem may affect more than the cost of replacing a product. It can also create customer-service workload, additional shipping costs, refunds, negative reviews, and lost opportunities for repeat purchases.

For the customer, however, the distinction does not always matter. The customer bought from the brand. The delivery experience becomes part of the brand experience. That is why post-purchase experience is becoming an increasingly important part of modern commerce. The opportunity is to think beyond the transaction and manage the entire customer journey:

Purchase → Delivery → Protection → Support → Resolution → Retention

When brands approach these stages as part of one connected experience, post-purchase operations become more than a back-office function. They can become a competitive advantage. A great product can win the first purchase. How a brand handles an unexpected problem can influence whether it earns the next one.

XCOTTON: Turning Post-Purchase Protection Into Business Value

This is where Xcotton comes in. Xcotton helps modern e-commerce brands protect every order after checkout. As a U.S.-based post-purchase protection platform, Xcotton enables merchants to offer shipping protection, product protection, and insurance-backed coverage solutions designed to reduce delivery risk, improve customer experience, and create new revenue opportunities.

Xcotton’s reach extends beyond the U.S. Through its licensed insurance intermediary in France, Xcotton is authorized to provide compliant insurance solutions to merchants and consumers across the European Union. This international capability supports brands as they expand into new markets while helping them offer protection solutions aligned with local regulatory requirements.

The company’s approach is built around a straightforward idea: post-purchase protection should not be viewed only as a way to manage losses. It can also be part of the customer experience. When something goes wrong with an order, customers want to know three things: What happened? What can I do? And how quickly can it be resolved?

A clear protection experience can help answer those questions while giving merchants a structured way to manage unexpected delivery issues. For Xcotton, the goal is simple: Help brands turn post-purchase protection into a better customer experience and a smarter business advantage.

Why Protection Matters for Global E-Commerce

For brands selling across borders, post-purchase protection becomes particularly important as order values, shipping distances, and fulfillment complexity increase.

International shipments can move through multiple carriers, fulfillment centers, customs processes, and last-mile networks before reaching the customer. For higher-value or larger products, a delivery issue can create significant costs for both merchants and shoppers.

Xcotton helps brands address these risks with protection solutions designed around different stages of the customer journey—from shipping protection to product protection and extended warranty coverage.

This gives merchants a more structured way to protect purchases while giving customers greater confidence in the products they are investing in.

Modern Brands Are Selling More Than Products

The same trend can be seen across categories far beyond consumer electronics. Brands increasingly build their businesses around distinctive products, direct relationships, personalization, and customer experience.

LINTICO is a women’s natural-fabric clothing brand known for its linen womenswear. With linen at the heart of its collections, LINTICO focuses on thoughtfully chosen fibers and versatile pieces designed for everyday life, work, travel, and special occasions. Its philosophy, “Linen That Loves You Back,” reflects a focus on comfort, natural materials, and lasting appeal.

Lordhair is a men’s hair system brand serving customers in more than 120 countries. The company designs and manufactures its hair systems in-house, from ready-to-wear pieces to fully customized bases. Localized websites, native-language support, and one-to-one consultations help customers navigate fitting and aftercare while creating a more personalized buying experience.

MICAS represents the growing market for elevated modern womenswear, where product design, brand identity, digital commerce, and customer experience are increasingly interconnected.

Popilush is a global shapewear fashion brand combining fashion and functionality through its signature built-in shapewear designs. Founded by Eve DeMartine, the company creates one-piece dresses and confidence-enhancing apparel for women worldwide, with a strong focus on functional design, inclusive fashion, and body confidence.

These brands illustrate a common reality of modern commerce: Customers are not simply buying a product. They are buying confidence in the brand behind it. That confidence can be influenced by what happens before the purchase—and just as importantly, what happens afterward.

From Cost Center to Business Opportunity

Post-purchase protection has traditionally been associated with risk management.

A shipment is lost. A merchant replaces it.

A package arrives damaged. A refund is issued.

A customer reports a problem. The support team resolves it.

But this reactive model can overlook the larger opportunity. What if protection could be designed as part of the customer journey from the beginning? What if customers knew before they completed their purchase that there was a clear solution if something went wrong?

And what if merchants could use protection not only to reduce the financial impact of delivery problems, but also to improve customer confidence and create additional business value?

This represents a broader shift in how brands can think about post-purchase protection. It is not simply about covering a loss. It is about creating confidence around the purchase. For e-commerce brands competing for repeat customers, that confidence can matter.

XCOTTON Connects With Brands at IFA 2026

IFA 2026 provides an ideal environment for these conversations. The event brings together companies across consumer technology, retail, home appliances, smart home, AI, robotics, and emerging categories. For businesses developing the next generation of consumer products, reaching the customer is only one part of the challenge. Delivering that product successfully—and creating a positive experience afterward—is equally important.

In Berlin, Xcotton connects with:

E-commerce and direct-to-consumer brandsConsumer technology companiesRetailers and distributorsSmart home and connected-device businessesFashion and lifestyle brandsTechnology and logistics partnersCompanies expanding into international markets

The goal is to understand the challenges these businesses face after checkout and explore opportunities to build stronger post-purchase experiences together. The complete journey: Discover. Purchase. Deliver. Protect. Support. Retain.

The Future of Commerce Goes Beyond Checkout

IFA 2026 is showcasing technologies designed to make consumer lives smarter, more connected, and more convenient.

For commerce brands, however, the next evolution may not be limited to smarter products. It may also be about creating smarter experiences around those products. The customer journey does not end when the payment is processed. It continues through fulfillment, delivery, support, returns, protection, and resolution. And when something goes wrong, the response can become one of the most important moments in the relationship between a customer and a brand.

Post-purchase protection is not simply about protecting a package. It is about protecting customer trust. During IFA 2026 in Berlin, Xcotton connects with brands that are looking to explore how better post-purchase experiences can help modern e-commerce businesses reduce delivery risk, strengthen customer relationships, and create lasting value. The future of commerce doesn’t end at checkout. It begins there.

Contact: merchantsupport@xcotton.ai

 

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ToolDance Unveils X1 Smart Desktop CNC Mill at IFA 2026

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BERLIN, Sept. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ToolDance, a technology company focused on intelligent desktop CNC solutions, officially unveiled its flagship product ToolDance X1 Smart Desktop CNC Mill at IFA 2026 in Berlin, Germany.

On the first day of the exhibition, ToolDance attracted significant attention from professional users, makers, and industry audiences with live demonstrations showcasing the complete workflow from preparation to finished parts. Learn more about the X1 Smart Desktop CNC Mill.

“What has been especially encouraging at IFA is seeing people watch the X1 turn raw material into a finished part and immediately start thinking about how they could use it in their own work,” said Will Wang, Founder and CEO of ToolDance. “Our goal is to bring professional CNC capabilities to makers, engineers, and small businesses in a more accessible desktop format, while retaining the performance required for real manufacturing tasks.”

ToolDance’s participation in IFA 2026 reflects the company’s commitment to making industrial-grade manufacturing capabilities more accessible in personal workspaces.

The X1 features a 1,500W permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) spindle that maintains strong torque at lower spindle speeds for demanding roughing operations and reaches speeds of up to 24,000rpm for precise finishing. It delivers positioning repeatability of ±0.01mm.

Its three-axis work envelope measures 400 × 265 × 180mm, providing room for functional parts such as fixtures, molds, machine plates, and housings, as well as multi-part production in a single setup. Support for tool shanks up to 10mm expands the range of cutters available for heavier material removal and larger tools.

The X1 supports both dry machining and flood-coolant machining across a range of metals, wood, and engineering plastics. Continuous coolant flow helps control heat, clear chips, and support stable cutting in demanding metal applications. Its cast aluminum-alloy frame is reinforced along critical load paths to increase rigidity and reduce vibration, supporting stable machining, consistent accuracy, and clean surface finishes.

On the software side, ToolDance Studio, developed in-house by ToolDance, is designed to lower the barrier to CNC machining through a streamlined three-step workflow from model to finished part.

Its Design for Manufacturability (DFM) analysis checks geometry, tool access, stock, and machining constraints to help users identify potential issues before cutting begins. The Workholding Guidance System recommends workholding setups for each operation based on part geometry and machining parameters, with step-by-step visual guidance. Its image-to-model feature can also generate editable geometry from photographs or reference images.

A nine-tool automatic tool changer (ATC) automates tool changes across operations ranging from roughing and drilling to finishing, chamfering, threading, and engraving, reducing the need for manual tool changes during multi-operation jobs.

The X1 is also designed as an expandable platform. With the optional simultaneous four or five-axis module, it can machine complex parts, curved surfaces, and fine details in a single setup, reducing re-clamping while maintaining alignment and accuracy.

The ToolDance X1 will remain on display at Hall 17, Booth H17-205 at Messe Berlin from Sept. 4–8, 2026, with live machining demonstrations taking place throughout the event. The product is scheduled to launch on Kickstarter in October 2026.

For more information, visit: https://www.tooldance.ai

About ToolDance

ToolDance is a technology company focused on  smart desktop CNC solutions. With the vision of “Your Personal Factory,” ToolDance integrates hardware, software, and automation to make industrial-grade manufacturing capabilities more accessible, helping makers, engineers, professionals, and small businesses turn ideas into physical products more efficiently.

Note: Please translate the content first and provide a preview. The photos will be provided on Sept. 4.

Media Contact: info@tooldance.ai

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